When is Virgin Australia going to buy more wide body aircraft?

VA seriously need to increase the number of widebody aircraft in order keep up with competition on longer routes and to create new routes.

There is a reason why they have built a large network through partnerships... So they don't have to put their own metal on the routes that they can't afford to operate.

Very true, however it seems crazy that they are attempting to compete on a Perth - Abu Dhabi route with their current fleet. This obviously means the sacrifice of one of the East-West A330 aircraft which are already insufficient on these routes 

Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti has often been asked about their 'future fleet', which usually comes down to a 'Boeing 787 vs Airbus A350' question – but it's not a decision on the radar right now, it's a post-2020 issue. That said, HNA's ~20% stake in Virgin Australia also opens up the easier option of leasing those aircraft (through HNA's leasing arm, which is the world's fourth largest aircraft leasing company) and potentially at "'mates's rates" rather than buying them outright.

I think people need to accept that there is going to be more and more 737's on east coast to Perth runs. The boom is over. Both Qantas and Virgin are flying 737's in what used to be an A330 domain. When the demand isn't there, the airlines aren't going to fly them. It sucks I know. I fly Melbourne to Perth often. But it is what it is and life goes on.

The problem with VA is that they don't actually know what to do with their widebodies. The mining boom is over, so loads wise, there is no need for coast to coast to be done with A330s, their 777s constantly lose money (think AUH and they just cant compete on fares to LAX). If anything they'd be better off just concentrating on fixing the Dom business first.

If VA can fly 737 between Darwin and HKG, and between Broome and Singapore, there is no point to buy more widebodies... VA has to accept that it is a regional operator with many high-profile partners, so what it needs to do is to connect to a few hubs instead of running inter-continental flights itself. 

Haha. I aggree! Where even is Darwin and Broome. Do you really think people want to have to stop to get to HKG and Singapore, when there is many great direct options from all major cities in Aust?

I think the future of International flying for Australian's, is the ability to fly to direct to the destination with aircraft such as the 787-9 and A350. If VA want to stay ahead of the competition, they need the think well out side of their own current routes and their competitions current routes. They need to be thinking London, Rome, Frankfurt, Paris, Chicago, New York etc etc.

Borghetti needs to think big picture. 737's are the modern day equivalent of a 1989 Corolla. Small, reliable POS's that no one likes riding in.